Hi there. I'm currently enrolled in community college at the moment but I'm looking to get a degree in either game art or Computer Animation. Since my junior year in high school I have been looking at Full Sail University in central Florida. Unfortunatlly my budget has been very tight these past few years and making the trip to central Florida seems very risky as far as budget goes. Before I make the jump I'd like to make sure that if I go there I'm going to get my money's worth. What are your opinions on the school? Are there any graduates here that can tell me their personal experiences? I'm trying to make sure that my 70,000(roughly) goes towards the right school.

On another note, in my quest to find something more affordable I have found Digital Media Arts Collge in Boca Raton Fl. The school is much closer to home and looks like it could be more affordable. I don't want to sell myself short but if it's a good school then I might consider going there instead. Has anyone gone there? Is it a good school or should I save my money for something better?

Thanks for the help.

MrConterno

02-25-2010, 02:11 AM

I have not gone to Full Sail but I have considered the school. I have talked with admissions and have been to the school. I do not recommend the school.

I feel the school is more interested in money and pumping out students than helping their students become successful. Don't get me wrong, if you don't put your best effort into what your doing you wont get much no matter where you attend. I feel that the school you choose can help or hinder you as a student reaching your potential. I believe that Full Sail is just not able to take a student and help them reach an industry ready level. I have spoken with some of the few who graduated from FS and became successful and what I found was that they are either A: Have extreme talent, or B: Already familiar with the field or did obscene amounts of study on their own, or both. In some respects you need to do some research on your own and do your own projects on the side but these students where talking about much more than that.

Simply put I feel you can get much more bang for your buck.

Below is a link to a video blog that you may find interesting. The man is always willing to answer questions and was very friendly and helpful.
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheCreativeItch

I can't comment on the other school never really heard of it.

P.S. I'm guessing you live in Florida from your post, if you want animation I would strongly recommend Ringling. But you said money was an issue so I don't know. Just an idea.

philnolan3d

02-25-2010, 07:05 AM

If you're looking at Full Sail I recommenced looking elsewhere. I've known a number of students and ex-teachers from there who had very little good to say about the animation program. I mostly hear that their goal is just to get you finished as quickly as possible to get the next paying customer into your place. I also hear a lot about students being hired as instructors as soon as they graduate.

However I do highly recommend The DAVE School (http://www.daveschool.com/) (Digital Animation & Visual Effects School) which is not far away from full sail, on the back lot of Universal Studios. In fact one of the teachers at DAVE taught at FS until DAVE opened up and he switched. DAVE is great since it's set up like working in a studio. You're there 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, just like a job, at the end of the year instead of coming up with a final project yourself the entire class works for a real client on one film, often with big name stars like Adam West and George Takei. Also the teachers are all industry pros who've been working in film/TV/games for a long time.

MrConterno

02-25-2010, 07:41 AM

I'd agree take a look at DAVE school. They aren't the best but it seems like you get what you need to know. I looked into them a bit but didn't really feel it was right for me, but looked decent.

http://www.daveschool.com/

P.S. Just went to their website again, looks like they updated it a good amount, looks way better. And apparently they have a free housing thing going on, that would be nice to take advantage of. It seems decent, probably going to have to pay your dues a bit longer, but they seem alright.

SparkyPantsMcGee

02-25-2010, 10:38 PM

Thanks for the help guys. I guess no one has info on DMAC, probably not worth the money then.

philnolan3d

02-26-2010, 12:45 AM

Yeah, sorry to say I've never heard of them.

kgaulin

02-26-2010, 02:02 AM

As a Full Sail Alum, I wanted to chime in on this thread...

Full Sail really does care more about filling seats than anything else, but after all, they ARE a business. They do not require an art test or any type of artistic background to get in, just a tuition check. They will not hold your hand and let you cruise through, but that is going to be true of any school you go to. When I started we had a class of about forty, seven graduated and I think two of us have jobs in the industry now.

Their program is extremely tough and is set up to weed out people that aren't 100% determined. They run on a 24hr cycle, meaning you can have a combination of lectures and labs at any given time of day or night and you schedule will change every month. For the most part you are on your own. The lectures consist of course instructors running through ton of information that is tough to follow since you are not in front of a computer. Then you go to lab and have very tight deadlines to finish projects with little to no support from the lab staff. You really have to learn to depend on yourself and troubleshoot things to figure them out. This is, however, how the industry works though. Your boss isn't going to sit with you and walk you through a project, he is just going to expect you to finish quality work, and on time.

Basically you are going to get out Full Sail what you put into it. I know a ton of people that went through the program and ended up having very successful careers. It really just depends on how bad you want it.

If you are already in Florida I don't see any reason why you shouldn't at least check out Full Sail, plus The DAVE School is right up the road, make it a road trip. You really should form your own opinion about the place....

Best of luck!

philnolan3d

02-26-2010, 02:13 AM

Wow my DAVE class started with 15 I believe, dropped down by two, then back up one (any student can retake the year for free) so we had 14 graduating. I believe about half are in the industry now, but some like 2 brothers, had no intention of doing this as a career. BTW I was in the April '03 class. Our film was Chimera for Cross-Gen Comics.

SparkyPantsMcGee

02-26-2010, 03:07 AM

As a Full Sail Alum, I wanted to chime in on this thread...

Full Sail really does care more about filling seats than anything else, but after all, they ARE a business. They do not require an art test or any type of artistic background to get in, just a tuition check. They will not hold your hand and let you cruise through, but that is going to be true of any school you go to. When I started we had a class of about forty, seven graduated and I think two of us have jobs in the industry now.

Their program is extremely tough and is set up to weed out people that aren't 100% determined. They run on a 24hr cycle, meaning you can have a combination of lectures and labs at any given time of day or night and you schedule will change every month. For the most part you are on your own. The lectures consist of course instructors running through ton of information that is tough to follow since you are not in front of a computer. Then you go to lab and have very tight deadlines to finish projects with little to no support from the lab staff. You really have to learn to depend on yourself and troubleshoot things to figure them out. This is, however, how the industry works though. Your boss isn't going to sit with you and walk you through a project, he is just going to expect you to finish quality work, and on time.

Basically you are going to get out Full Sail what you put into it. I know a ton of people that went through the program and ended up having very successful careers. It really just depends on how bad you want it.

If you are already in Florida I don't see any reason why you shouldn't at least check out Full Sail, plus The DAVE School is right up the road, make it a road trip. You really should form your own opinion about the place....

Best of luck!

I have been on a tour at Fullsail and I was pretty set to go until a few weeks after the tour. Sadly, they upped the tuition(and they're doing it again in the fall). With money being so tight I'm starting to have second thoughts and I'm trying to look for alternatives. I don't mind that they don't hold my hand, I'm a slow learner but if it pertains to something of interest I tend to pick up on things fast(plus I take good notes XD). If that's really the only problem then I think I'm prepared for it. Personally it's just the money at this point.

The Dave school sounds pretty interesting and I think I might set up a tour date before the fall comes around.

I have another question about a different school. What can you guys say about the Academy of the Arts in San Diago(or is it Fransisco?). They are 17,000 a semester with on campus living(a nice plus). The only downside is that California is a bit out of the way(as far as touring goes) and I have no clue about the campus and how serious they are with the curriculum. I really don't want to sell myself short because I'm serious about making this my career. This forum has been a great help so thanks again guys.

dax3d

03-02-2010, 06:21 PM

I agree with what Kyle said about the school. But when I see you wrote you are a "slow learner"...I don't know how well that would work at Full Sail. Not to discourage you, but the program is fast. And requires a ton of time, not to mention if you want to really succeed you have to work quite a bit on your own time as well. For example, on our spring break, I watched every Gnomon particle DVD (12 at the time I think?) to supplement what I would have the following months dynamics class. Maybe overkill sure, but you need to learn quite fast there.

Even DAVE school which I've heard nothing but good things about, I think has a pretty fast pace. Maybe a more traditional school might be your speed? Which gives you a more well-rounded education as well?

SparkyPantsMcGee

03-02-2010, 08:04 PM

I agree with what Kyle said about the school. But when I see you wrote you are a "slow learner"...I don't know how well that would work at Full Sail. Not to discourage you, but the program is fast. And requires a ton of time, not to mention if you want to really succeed you have to work quite a bit on your own time as well. For example, on our spring break, I watched every Gnomon particle DVD (12 at the time I think?) to supplement what I would have the following months dynamics class. Maybe overkill sure, but you need to learn quite fast there.

Even DAVE school which I've heard nothing but good things about, I think has a pretty fast pace. Maybe a more traditional school might be your speed? Which gives you a more well-rounded education as well?

Do you have any good suggestions on a traditional school that would be good towards a career in Game Art or Computer Animations? I checked a few Universities around me but their art programs don't seem to be anything special.

philnolan3d

03-02-2010, 08:11 PM

Even DAVE school which I've heard nothing but good things about, I think has a pretty fast pace. Maybe a more traditional school might be your speed? Which gives you a more well-rounded education as well?

At DAVE we did learn fast but I think that's mainly because we were in the same class with the same people 5 hrs a day, 5 days a week for the whole year (minus 2 one week breaks) plus having a small class meant more time for the teachers to spend with each student. So I felt like we learned fast not so much because we had to, but because we were enabled to.

dax3d

03-02-2010, 09:00 PM

Fair enough Phil. I'm just concerned if the OP thinks he is a slow learner, which some students are of course. These intensive programs like Full Sail or DAVE school packing so much information isn't for everyone. We had students dropping like flies because of it, so if someone thinks they might have trouble at a fast pace I wouldn't recommend it. Hard to say, maybe things suddenly "click" or so forth, but it's a very expensive experiment.

Sparky, to be honest I haven't checked into 4 year schools for a while, or specifically their game programs. I am a bit biased towards the 4 year school for a variety of reasons. First, as I am going through now, the Bachelor's alone is worth pursuing (yes Full Sail now offers this). Lately I am interested in pursuing some other avenues, but I didn't finish my Bachelor's at UCF (almost! lol) I dropped out to go to Full Sail before graduating. Which as I am working in the film industry for a while now, obviously the gamble worked for me. But I have to finish the degree to pursue some of my other goals now.

Also, just the whole college experience, living on campus, and all of that, I think is great. You won't get that too much living at Full Sail. Yeah we partied and had some fun, but you really really need to work extra hard if you plan on going to Full Sail. Just think the whole life experience can help. I am using some of my time at UCF on my latest movie script for example. Being a well rounded person helps in this industry or any.

That being said, I'm not sure if you are in a rush to finish school in general, or any of your situation. For me, the crash course worked.
I have heard good things about UCF's program, and that they're partnered up with EA games (correct? anyone?) so maybe that's worth a closer look? I'm just thinking due to how close it is to you already.

Sorry for the rant lol. If there's anything specific you'd like to know about Full Sail or UCF in general (not their game program) happy to answer.

Reche23

03-05-2010, 03:59 AM

I go to DMAC, almost all the classes are 7.5 weeks, take that as you may.
If you come into the undergrad or grad program with a strong art foundation, (already know anatomy, color theory, perspective, etc.) you can come out as a great CG artist. However if you don't have a strong foundation and aren't willing to work hard as well as look for outside information/tutorials to supplement what you are learning in classes you will probably be wasting your money. There are certain teachers at the school who are incredibly knowledgeable about CG, who I cant recommend enough. Its up to you to find them and pick their brain.

jpatel

03-05-2010, 01:41 PM

You should check out FAU if money is an issue. They have a computer animation program and the tuition will be a lot less than Full Sail or DMAC since it's a state school. It's in Communication & Multimedia Studies under Film, Video and New Media.

WeezTheJuice

03-06-2010, 02:19 AM

I have heard good things about UCF's program, and that they're partnered up with EA games (correct? anyone?) so maybe that's worth a closer look? I'm just thinking due to how close it is to you already.

UCF's program that is partnered with EA is a graduate program, FIEA. From what I've seen it is a darn good program with very high placement rates in the gaming industry. They also have nice facilities (24/7 personal workspace in the building with the largest mocap studio on the east coast in house). I go to ucf and I'm in the undergrad "visual language" program which has classes in the same building as FIEA. It is a pretty nice little program and is a great deal money wise if you're looking for a bachelors, but along with the bachelors comes a lot of fluff early on that you can certainly live without. Once you do get into the visual language program it is fast paced, just like all other decent programs will be, and just like any other school, you must be very dedicated and work hard outside of class to succeed.

Ok, I'll bite. Why are you a good example of why he shouldn't go to Full Sail? Technically I'm an example of why he should lol.

HughBowen

03-23-2010, 07:43 PM

Ok, I'll bite. Why are you a good example of why he shouldn't go to Full Sail? Technically I'm an example of why he should lol. First why would recommend someone spend 84,000 to go to any school.The classes are all 1 month except Art1-2 and end classes. Even if you know little of foundations thats one month.You cant even transfer you classes to another CG school anywhere.Why should he go to Full Sail and not another place that is better and cost say 30,000 instead of 84,000.Not to mention other factors. If you went there you know by your 6th month half of your graduation class is gone cuz they either ran out of money(like me) or couldnt keep up with the 1-month learning pace or something else. If you have that much money to blow go to Gnomon.

dax3d

03-23-2010, 08:29 PM

Well if you read anything I've said, I do NOT recommend students to go to Full Sail. Some students? Yes definitely. All students? No, not so much.

I was simply interested in why you would be an example not to go, we don't really know anything about your situation (if you posted I didn't see it, I'll look). I guess I was curious about specifics.

How do you run out of money to go to Full Sail? Don't they approve you for the whole program at once? If they didn't, that sounds like a new twist in the process, and one that doesn't sound so good for the students. And yes, my class went from about 50 to maybe..30ish? Been a while, so don't remember. And out of those that graduated, I can probably count on one hand how many are in the industry.

I don't recommend Gnomon either, these days I try and recommend students to go to a 4 year school, or at least one that offers a Bachelors (yes Full Sail does now)..but basically get a well rounded education in case they don't make it into the industry.

Long story short, not sure of what happened to you or why you're an example of why not to go.

HughBowen

03-23-2010, 09:28 PM

Well if you read anything I've said, I do NOT recommend students to go to Full Sail. Some students? Yes definitely. All students? No, not so much.

I was simply interested in why you would be an example not to go, we don't really know anything about your situation (if you posted I didn't see it, I'll look). I guess I was curious about specifics.

How do you run out of money to go to Full Sail? Don't they approve you for the whole program at once? If they didn't, that sounds like a new twist in the process, and one that doesn't sound so good for the students. And yes, my class went from about 50 to maybe..30ish? Been a while, so don't remember. And out of those that graduated, I can probably count on one hand how many are in the industry.

I don't recommend Gnomon either, these days I try and recommend students to go to a 4 year school, or at least one that offers a Bachelors (yes Full Sail does now)..but basically get a well rounded education in case they don't make it into the industry.

Long story short, not sure of what happened to you or why you're an example of why not to go.

I apologize for misunderstanding.well they dont have dorms so either you or your parents have to cover that the cheapest rent is 400-500 with a roommate.Not to mention other needs such as food,utilities,and etc. Its impossible to work and go to full sail cuz classes are Monday-Saturday,Sundays off. So I'm not speaking on money to go to the school,but money to leave. I was told by many past and current students in my first class this happens alot.

philnolan3d

03-23-2010, 09:32 PM

I don't recommend Gnomon either, these days I try and recommend students to go to a 4 year school, or at least one that offers a Bachelors (yes Full Sail does now)..but basically get a well rounded education in case they don't make it into the industry.

This is a good point. While I loved DAVE and highly recommend it, Let it be said that I first spent 3.5 years at a community college as an art / photo major, then a year at University of The Arts as an animation / film major. I don't have a Bachelors, but I do have an Associate's from DAVE. Not that I think a degree means anything at all in this industry, but I think I got a well rounded education.

dax3d

03-23-2010, 10:12 PM

Phil I'm sort of in the same boat as you. I started at University of Central Florida right up the street from Full Sail. Started in business management, and made it about 3 years or so in. Dropped everything to go to FS and got the Associates. While in our industry that's ok, if you want to leave or have to leave..it can be a problem. I guess what I worry about for new students is the fact if they drop 80 grand for the A.S, and don't make it in...that's a big debt with not many real life applicaple skills. I am glad I went, but I was one of the few who made it into the industry. Still not wild about the size of the school loan though ;)

And FullSailAlien, no problem, that makes more sense. I had lived/worked in Orlando already. I was working at Citywalk making good money, and couldn't keep my job because of the crazy hours at Full Sail. I made it through the general ed part but eventually had to leave. Unfortunately, the solution is to add on "living expense" money, for rent bills and such. Which obviously adds to the size of your loan :/

I think Full Sail can be worth it, just need to be prepared is all.

philnolan3d

03-23-2010, 10:23 PM

Yes I briefly worked at Starbucks while I was at DAVE (next intersection down from CityWalk :) ) but had to leave after a couple months because my school work was starting to suffer. While DAVE has no official homework, you really still have to work on your projects outside of class if you want them to really shine.

shy-guy

08-03-2010, 04:09 AM

Hey philnolan3d, i have a couple of questions about Dave School. I´ve been reading info about different schools to go to hone my skills in 3d and fx.

I had a look at their webpage but after a good time looking and clicking links here and there, there were a couple of things i didn´t find, the most important being, how much is the freaking tuition cost? I find it suspicious that i didn´t find it anywhere on the site.

The other thing is that from what i see in their website, they only have one program? The "Computer Animation" one? I mean, i looked at their program curriculum and it looks really good, and it has almost every theme that im interested in, but all of the schools and institutes i´ve come across in my search have a few programs or degree´s to pick from; this would be the first that i see that only has one program.

And the last thing... someone mentioned something about a free housing service they have, but i cant seem to find any information about it on their website. How does that works?

Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.

philnolan3d

08-03-2010, 04:45 AM

That is odd about the price, I guess they want you to write or call them for info at which point they'll tell you. When I went, back in 2002, it was $25K, I think at some point I heard that it was raised to 30K. This may be more than some other schools but you have to remember that you are there 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 1 solid year. While other schools might be a few hours a day, 4 days a week for 4 years with summers off.

Yes, DAVE is a very small school, everything is set up like you're working in a CG animation studio with the main goal of getting you a real job in a CG animation studio. There are no classes on sound because as an animator, modeler, texture artist, etc, nobody will ask you to make sounds. Same for live action film, CG cameras (at least in LightWave) work exactly like real cameras so all the film knowledge you get is rolled into the CG stuff.

There are points where some other things will be taught, like compositing, but it won't be a whole class with different students or something. It's more like- I'm learning character modeling this week. Next week a different teacher comes in and I'm with the same class, in the same room, but I'm learning compositing. In a couple weeks another teacher will come in and teach my class character animation. Something like that.

Things might be a little different since the school has changed since I was there, new building even, but I think the teaching style is still roughly the same.

I don't know anything about the free housing, aside from the fact that it was like a 4 bedroom big apartment that you shared with some other students. That came along loong after I graduated. I saw it on the website not long ago but I don't see it now, I guess you'd have to talk to them about that. I had to get my own apartment. If you have to get one also I can recommend Cypress Greens on Conroy Rd. it's only 3 miles away and very nice, but there are tons and tons of apartment complexes around there, I think I passed like 8 of them on my way home every day.

shy-guy

08-04-2010, 09:41 AM

Hey philnolan3d, thanks a lot for your answer. I knew very little about Dave School until a few days ago, but now its becoming one of my frontrunners from the places i´ve been researching about, which includes VFS (of course), Lost Boys, Full Sail, Scad, Van Arts and Gnomon, among others. Maybe i´ll open a thread later down the road to talk about my potential choices and to ask people which one they think is best based on my personal situation and likes.

One last question about Dave School (i might send them an e-mail later to ask some more specific things)... which programs do they teach for the 3d and for the compositing side of things? I´ve been using 3ds Max and After Effects for some good four or five years now, and im really really familiarized with them both, so the software´s that the institutes that i´m investigating use to teach their stuff is very important to me. Not because i believe that i will be unable to learn a new one, but because i´ve always read how these kinds of institutes or programs are so god damn fast and furious, and that if you blink you will get way behind.. so, with that in mind, i think i will be a whole lot more confident if i find a place were i can use my existing skills (limited as they are) with these softwares. I read that some places don´t oblige you to use the programs of they´re choosing? But that most of them do?

Anyways, thanks again for the concern and help mate. :)

cohominous

08-08-2010, 04:25 PM

As a graduate of Full Sail, I thought I'd give my 2 cents.

I went to Full Sail with some of my best friends from high school. One took the audio course, one took the film course and I took the digital media course.

I've worked in multimedia houses, production houses and the corporate world. In my current job, I'm the head of the marketing department for a publicly traded international manufacturer. I manage our department personnel, ad agencies and multiple freelancers. Together we provide all the marketing for two large brands.

The audio graduate has worked in various studios around LA and San Francisco. He's worked with No Doubt, Orgy, Third Eye Blind, Jars of Clay, the Donnas, Lifehouse and toured with the Barenaked ladies. He's also had some success writing music for commercials.

The film graduate went on to work on music videos for Dave Matthews, Timbaland and Creed; studio flicks like No Country for Old Men, Legally Blonde and Legion; TV shows like Shark, Sons of Anarchy, and Jerich; and TV commercials for Nike and Tiger Woods.

Are we the norm? Probably not. Not everyone from a 4 year school is successful either. Many are not. You don't see 4 yr colleges being evaluated based on the millions of dropouts and people who failed... They are judged by their successes.

Like everything in life: You get out what you put in.

Everyone I know who applied themselves, studied, put in extra time, and went above and beyond what was required, is successful. Everyone who did the minimum, partied more than they studied, and were not motivated... is now unhappy with their choices.

Is Full Sail for everyone? That's a resounding "no". If you love media, audio or film and are extremely motivated - then it may be for you. If you aren't, you should go somewhere else. If you don't learn at a very fast pace - go somewhere else. Also keep in mind that if you plan to continue your education, your credits won't transfer to most other schools. It's accreditation is for technical schools. In fact, I'll need to start over credit-wise when I go back for a business degree.

But don't judge Full Sail based on the failures. Judge it based on its potential.

arusnak

08-10-2010, 07:13 PM

As a Full Sail Alumni, its a great school. I've learned a lot out of it and the courses are intense. The school is mean to PUSH you and give you the tight schedule of the Entertainment Industry. You can say what you want about the school, but our Alumni are scattered everywhere in the Industry. Even looking at the Demo Reels that on the CGSociety pages, the school doesn't mess around.

Most of the people that complain about Full Sail, failed out because they couldn't balance their time, were lazy, or just couldn't handle the classes and scheduling.

If you want to get opinions about the school actually TALK to former students, and not the opinions of others that never even went to Full Sail.

But back to your original question, if you are a slow learner then Full Sail wouldn't be a great fit. Vancouver and GNOMON both have great programs. The Demo Reels that come out of those schools are amazing as well.

FYI, Full Sail dropped the Associates Degree for Computer Animation 3 years ago. In fact , they only have two Associates degrees available.

narenn

08-11-2010, 05:46 AM

As a Full Sail Alum, I wanted to chime in on this thread...

Full Sail really does care more about filling seats than anything else, but after all, they ARE a business. They do not require an art test or any type of artistic background to get in, just a tuition check. They will not hold your hand and let you cruise through, but that is going to be true of any school you go to. When I started we had a class of about forty, seven graduated and I think two of us have jobs in the industry now.

Their program is extremely tough and is set up to weed out people that aren't 100% determined. They run on a 24hr cycle, meaning you can have a combination of lectures and labs at any given time of day or night and you schedule will change every month. For the most part you are on your own. The lectures consist of course instructors running through ton of information that is tough to follow since you are not in front of a computer. Then you go to lab and have very tight deadlines to finish projects with little to no support from the lab staff. You really have to learn to depend on yourself and troubleshoot things to figure them out. This is, however, how the industry works though. Your boss isn't going to sit with you and walk you through a project, he is just going to expect you to finish quality work, and on time.

Basically you are going to get out Full Sail what you put into it. I know a ton of people that went through the program and ended up having very successful careers. It really just depends on how bad you want it.

If you are already in Florida I don't see any reason why you shouldn't at least check out Full Sail, plus The DAVE School is right up the road, make it a road trip. You really should form your own opinion about the place....

Best of luck!

I have spoken to a recent grad from Full Sail, and his story is much the same as yours.

P.S. That's a good thing about this field... no matter where you go, it truly is not what can the school do for you, but how YOU can make the most of it.

dax3d

08-17-2010, 12:42 AM

The school is mean to PUSH you and give you the tight schedule of the Entertainment Industry.

Sorry, that's not why.

Most of the people that complain about Full Sail, failed out because they couldn't balance their time, were lazy, or just couldn't handle the classes and scheduling.

If you want to get opinions about the school actually TALK to former students, and not the opinions of others that never even went to Full Sail.

Also have to disagree here. Even my friends in the industry have a pretty bad attitude when mentioning Full Sail. I'm glad I went, but I would feel criminal if I recommended it to others without many warnings and caveats.

But back to your original question, if you are a slow learner then Full Sail wouldn't be a great fit.

I agree, it's a fairly brutal schedule, where you don't get a lot of room to catch your breath. If you do go, definitely take any time during holidays or the vacations you get to practice, and study! Good luck if you go

arusnak

08-17-2010, 01:02 PM

Also have to disagree here. Even my friends in the industry have a pretty bad attitude when mentioning Full Sail. I'm glad I went, but I would feel criminal if I recommended it to others without many warnings and caveats.

I agree, Full Sail does come with a warning label. Its hard to describe the experience of going without enrolling in it yourself. The school is demanding and the endless lab hours don't stop. I defiantly wouldn't recommend this school to someone with a family. I've seen people do it, but it takes a toll on their children and spouses.

wand94nard

08-19-2010, 07:37 AM

I've been looking for a good graphic school to go to in FL. I found this review on Ringling College of Art & Design on Telonu.com:

I really want to get serious and sign up for a good school. Does anyone know anything about Ringling?

Has anyone ever used Telonu.com for reviews before? They have reviews of schools, teachers at some of the schools and even job postings. Seems great and trustworthy!

So, do I go with my gut and sign up for Ringling?

philnolan3d

08-19-2010, 09:52 AM

I was looking at Ringling when I was transfering out of community college in the late 90's They looked like a pretty good school but I ended up going to the local University of The Arts in Philly instead. Then when I left there a friend told me about DAVE in FL, so I ended up going there next. So of course I still recommend DAVE, but it depends on what you mean by "graphic". If you're looking for a general art school DAVE would not be a place for you since it's strictly CG animation and VFX. If that's the case, Ringling is a good choice I think.

CGTalk Moderation

08-19-2010, 09:52 AM

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.